100 Ways to Say
by VectorCrocodileFangirl
Summary: /Mugendramon x MetalSeadramon/ 100 one-shots based around the MugenMetal pairing.
1. Beginnings

**001. Beginnings**

_Why the beach?_

Everyone knew that Mugendramon despised the beach. Mostly it was because of his metal and electrical make up, which made him skittish around water. So, of course, Piemon would choose _him_ to patrol the nearby beach.

_We need a water-bound Dark Master..._ Mugendramon thought, cursing silently as he strolled leisurely at the far end of the sand, wary to stay as far away from the water as possible. A water-bound Dark Master actually didn't seem like such a bad idea, in Mugendramon's opinion. After all, it was difficult for the three of them to keep control of the Digital World alone, especially when they were always in danger of an uprising from the water digimon, as they didn't have any sort of informant. And it would certainly stop Piemon from assigning him beach duty.

"Why does he even worry about this area? There's not a single Digimon within miles of this place." Mugendramon thought aloud. And it was true; his heat detectors couldn't locate a single Digimon within 5 miles of the beach.

At least, not any Digimon on land.

_What's the point of doing this?_ He thought. There wasn't one, he decided. He sat down on the sand, preparing to take a long nap for the duration of his patrol, hoping that Piemon would be preoccupied with things other than watching his progress. It didn't take him long to fall asleep, seeing as Piemon had been giving him a lot of extra work.

He didn't notice the shadow quickly approaching the beach.

Mugendramon woke up with a feeling of impending danger. He lashed out blindly in the direction he felt a presence, and tried to fall into a fighting position, which didn't work out too well considering he was lying down. He ended up in an awkward lying position.

Meanwhile, the Digimon who had triggered his sensor had clearly avoided his attack, although Mugendramon could tell by his location in relation to his own that he had nearly clawed his eyes out.

"Who are you?" he demanded, standing up as to look more imposing. It didn't work as well as he hoped it would, seeing as he and the other Digimon, which he recognized as a rare Mega Digimon called MetalSeadramon, were about the same height. He found himself directly face to face with the other.

"I was just about to ask you that." the MetalSeadramon replied. "And why you were sleeping on my beach."

"I'm one of the Dark Masters. I'm free to sleep wherever I please." Mugendramon said with a snarl. _Who does this Digimon think he is?_ He asked himself.

"Your that Mugendramon guy, aren't you?" he asked, pulling himself further onto the beach. Mugendramon raised his claws, making it very clear that he didn't want the Digimon to come any further.

"So what if I am?" he asked, with pure malice coating his words. The MetalSeadramon seemed unaffected.

"Well, whoever you are, you should stay off of my beach." he said. "If you know what's good for you." Mugendramon could have sworn he saw the MetalSeadramon wink in his direction before he slipped back into the water.

"Why, you—come back here!" he called out to the ocean, but received no reply. He turned to head back to Spiral Mountain, regardless of whether or not his patrol was officially over. He had had enough of this place, especially its inhabitants.

He also had to discuss the matter of a water-bound Dark Master with Piemon.

He never wanted to return to this beach again, or to see that irritating MetalSeadramon.

Little did he know.


	2. Middles

**002. Middles**

"What are _you _doing here?!"

The last Digimon Mugendramon had ever expected to see at Spiral Mountain was MetalSeadramon. More specifically, the same MetalSeadramon who had irritated him so at the beach only a few days ago.

"Hello to you too." MetalSeadramon replied, laying his head down on the floor next to the pool that had mysteriously appeared within the Main Chamber.

"You're not answering my question." Mugendramon hissed, fury seeping into every syllable.

"I'm your new teammate, but I can see I'm not exactly being welcomed with open arms." MetalSeadramon explained. "I see you still haven't forgotten that incident at the beach."

"I have a perfect memory. I couldn't forget it if I wanted to." Mugendramon said.

"Aw, c'mon. Try. For me?" MetalSeadramon asked, in an almost mocking fashion.

"Why would I do anything for _you_?" Mugendramon asked.

"Because I'm trying to be nice and not regret my decision to join you guys?" MetalSeadramon replied. "Honestly, I don't want to be miserable whenever I'm around you, so...truce?" He extended a fin towards Mugendramon.

Mugendramon, on the other hand, hesitated. He _really_ didn't want to make up with MetalSeadramon, who he was beginning to honestly despise, but he didn't want problems to arise that would force Piemon to get involved, making him look like a stubborn fool.

"...fine. Truce. For the time being." Mugendramon extended his own claw and shook MetalSeadramon's fin. "MetalSeadramon, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Back on the beach, right before you left, did you...wink at me?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did." MetalSeadramon replied. Mugendramon was slightly taken aback by the direct reply.

"...why?" he asked. MetalSeadramon chuckled.

"You're the smart one. Figure it out." he replied, with a smirk. "See ya around." Before diving back into the pool, MetalSeadramon winked at him yet again.

Leaving a very confused Mugendramon standing there.

_This is going to be...interesting._ He thought.


	3. Ends

**003. Ends**

Mugendramon sighed as he wandered aimlessly around Spiral Mountain. He normally wouldn't do something so incredibly trivial, but he had a lot on his mind, and he'd always heard that walking helped to clear the head.

The last few weeks had been...interesting, to say the least. MetalSeadramon had quickly adapted to life as a Dark Master, and was surprisingly amazing at it. He remembered how long it had taken for him and Piemon to train Pinnochimon when _he_ had joined the Dark Masters. Apparently, they'd gotten lucky with MetalSeadramon.

And of course, Mugendramon was constantly plagued by his fellow teammate.

Ever since MetalSeadramon had joined the Dark Masters, shortly after their less-than-pleasant run-in on the beach, he'd been plagued by him. It wasn't the same, annoying, follow-you-everywhere plague that Pinnochimon had done when he'd first joined, but it was nearly as bothersome.

He couldn't get MetalSeadramon out of his head.

He hadn't the slightest idea why. He still wasn't particularly fond of him, and still hadn't fully forgiven him for the insolence he had displayed on the beach, but he still couldn't get him off of his mind. It was severely frustrating.

"What'cha doin', Mugen?"

Mugendramon knew Pinnochimon was there even before he'd said anything. His sensors could pick up even the slightest movement from a mile away, even behind his back. He snarled at the annoying nickname and turned to face his fellow Dark Master.

"Thinking. Now go away." He snarled at the puppet.

"Thinkin' about what?" he asked.

"Nothing of interest. Now GO AWAY." he repeated, with emphasis.

"Fine, fine. Geeze, someone's in a bad mood today." Pinnochimon said, pouting. "By the way, MetalSeadramon's looking for you. He's in the Master Chamber." Even if Pinnochimon had more to say, Mugendramon didn't hear it, because he'd taken off in the direction of the Master Chamber. He didn't even know why. The last Digimon he wanted to be around was MetalSeadramon right now, when he was so confused! But something was drawing him towards the other Dark Master.

It wasn't long before he found himself at the grand entrance to the Master Chamber. If he'd had a proper body of flesh and blood, he would have been sweating and out of breath. But he wasn't, so he didn't. He pushed open the wide double doors and entered the room.

It would have been impossible not to know when MetalSeadramon was in a room. The scent of the ocean which followed him continuously was impossible to miss, no matter how dull your sense of smell was.

"MetalSeadramon?" he called. No reply. What a surprise. Honestly, the metal sea dragon couldn't reply to the sound of his own name if his life depended on it! "MetalSeadramon, if you don't come out right this minute, I'm leaving." he threatened. Suddenly, there was what looked like a small whirlpool in the middle of the nearby pond, and it only took a few moment for the peak of MetalSeadramon's helmet to break the surface. "What do you want, MetalSeadramon? I'm busy." Mugendramon snarled.

"Whoa, someone's in a bad mood." MetalSeadramon commented.

"Yes, thank you for noticing. Now, get to the point." Mugendramon ordered. Officially, he was of equal rank with both Pinnochimon and MetalSeadramon, and therefore had no control over them, but he liked to think that his seniority counted for something. Unfortunately, in their eyes, it usually didn't, unless Mugendramon was particularly pissed off.

"Now now, don't rush me. I don't like to be rushed, especially when it's as important as this." MetalSeadramon said.

"What could be so important that you had to send Pinnochimon to find me?" Mugendramon asked.

"It's...something. Something that's kind of hard to say." MetalSeadramon explained. Mugendramon was taken aback; usually, MetalSeadramon was the very manifestation of confidence, but he sounded incredibly unsure at the moment.

"You should at least know what you're going to say before you send for someone." Mugendramon chided.

"I know what I want to say, I just don't know how great the reception will be. I'd prefer not getting cut in half or blown up, personally." he explained. "Can you promise me that, at least?"

"Fine. I promise not to hurt you. Happy?" Mugendramon said, irritatedly. MetalSeadramon's hedging was really beginning to get on his nerves. "Now out with it." MetalSeadramon took a deep breath, and Mugendramon began thinking that this wasn't some sort of sick joke.

"OK. When I saw you at the beach the first time, I was a bit ticked off that someone was just casually sleeping on my beach, especially one of the Dark Masters. But the longer I watched, the less threatening you became, even though I knew you were still incredibly dangerous. And even when you woke up and tried to claw my eyes out, I still didn't find you too dangerous. And I had no idea why. But then you left, and I didn't think I'd ever see you again, so I just kind of forgot about it." MetalSeadramon explained. "But then Piemon came and asked me to be a part of the Dark Masters, and when I came here, I ran into you. And in the past few weeks, I've been around you a lot, and even when you weren't around, I couldn't stop thinking about you. So I sat down and tried to figure out why that was, and I came to a conclusion."

"And that conclusion would be...?" Mugendramon asked. He was no longer angry, simply curious.

"That I...um...I think that I...love you...?" MetalSeadramon said.

There was a tense silence.

"MetalSeadramon, if this is some sort of sick joke, that promise I made will no longer apply." Mugendramon said, in a voice that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" MetalSeadramon asked, looking as serious as possible.

"Good, because I have something to say to you." Mugendramon said. "When I first met you, I thought you were annoying and insolent. The only positive thing I could think of while I was stalking off was that I'd never see you again. And then you showed up here, and I was angry beyond all reason. I couldn't believe that Lord Piemon would choose someone so insolent, so rude, to be the fourth Dark Master. But you proved to be worthy, more so than some, and I decided that, insolent or not, Piemon had made the right choice." he explained. "But...all that time, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I had no idea why. I thought I hated you, but...I know the truth now. I've been wandering around all day, trying to figure it out, but what you just said helped me to finally realize it. MetalSeadramon, even though from the beginning I thought I hated you, I think the real answer is, that maybe...I love you too." MetalSeadramon smiled, a sort of cross between a sly smirk and a cheeky grin that made Mugendramon feel strange.

"'Maybe'?" he repeated.

"I'm not designed to feel such complex emotions." Mugendramon explained. "When Piemon saved me from certain death and placed me in this metal body, he purposely neglected to give me those kinds of feelings so I wouldn't be distracted."

"Well, it looks like you managed to overcome that." MetalSeadramon said, jokingly. Mugendramon couldn't help but chuckle. It looked like this was the end of that animosity that had plagued them since they'd first met.

And the start of something so much better.


	4. Insides & Outsides

**004. Insides**

**005. Outsides**

As a Dark Master, it was very important for MetalSeadramon to know what feelings to show and what ones to keep to himself. Showing the wrong emotion in front of Piemon could mean the difference between life and death.

Of course, it could be difficult to do that when one of those emotions that you had to keep inside welled up so strongly inside of you whenever you saw one of your teammates.

MetalSeadramon had always been good at controlling his feelings, but ever since he and Mugendramon had had their "heartfelt confession" moment in the Master Chamber, every time he saw his partner, he felt a strange desire building up inside of him that wasn't always that easy to control. Luckily he had trained it so that, at the very least, Piemon didn't notice. But it always made it that much more difficult to see Mugendramon ignore him in order to keep both Piemon and Pinnochimon in the dark.

Of course, there were a few occasions when he slipped up, and Pinnochimon became suspicious. He never fumbled when around Piemon, at least, but if Pinnochimon were to find out, it would be just as disastrous. Dark Masters were supposed to be stoic, unfeeling machines. They weren't supposed to fall in love.

And, of course, when the were alone, all the barriers they'd put up to keep their fellow Dark Masters off of their trail would come crashing down. When they were alone they didn't have to be Mugendramon and MetalSeadramon, two of the most feared, ruthless Digimon of all time. Instead, they were free to be Mugendramon and MetalSeadramon, the two irrevocably in-love Digimon that just happened to be Dark Masters.

And when they fell back under Piemon's watchful gaze, they kept up appearances.

Because it was important to be able to differentiate between insides and outsides.


	5. Hours

**006. Hours**

_Only a few more hours..._

Mugendramon sat in the Observatory, dutifully watching the Chosen Children as they continued their pilgrimage through the Digital World. Every Dark Master, even Pinnochimon, had to watch them for a certain amount of time each day, while Piemon worked on other things. Of course, Mugendramon was used to it by now. He'd been helping Piemon do it since they were assigned to do so by Apocalymon when they were still being trained, when the original Chosen Children were in the Digital World. Of course, back then, and up until only a few weeks ago, he'd really had nothing better to do.

Now, he was a lot more interested in spending time with MetalSeadramon. But if Piemon ever found out about their relationship, they would probably end up being deleted. So they both had to go about as if nothing was wrong. Which meant spending endless hours sitting in the observation room, watching the Chosen Children, without a single complaint. Like it had always been, before MetalSeadramon joined the Dark Masters.

_Just a few more hours, and Piemon will be back..._

Once Piemon returned from doing whatever it was he was doing, Mugendramon would be free to go and do whatever he pleased. Before, that would have included returning to Multitask City and enjoying ruling over the Hagurumon and his other slaves, but now, it meant going to the Master Chamber, the only room in Spiral Mountain that Piemon never set foot in, and that Pinnochimon knew to stay clear of when both Mugendramon and MetalSeadramon were in there. That was where he and MetalSeadramon would always meet, in order to just spend hours just enjoying being in each other's presence.

But Mugendramon was beginning to doubt if he could last the final few hours. It seemed an impossible task, even considering the fate he knew would arise if he failed to be able to. He was simply too eager to be with MetalSeadramon. Because of conflicting schedules, they hadn't been together for 3 days. Today their schedules were perfectly aligned and the moment he finished his observation, MetalSeadramon would be arriving at the Master Chamber, having finished his ocean patrol.

He just wanted those few hours to be done with.

But he knew, better than anyone because of how long he'd been with Piemon, how crucial commitment to duty was in his eyes. And so he'd just have to wait.

He'd just have to wait.


	6. Days

**007. Days**

It had been 3 days since MetalSeadramon had last seen Mugendramon.

Of course, he'd _seen_ him. They'd both attended the daily meetings to give their status reports, and they'd passed when going about their duties around Spiral Mountain. But he hadn't _seen_ him, in the fashion that he wanted to. They hadn't been together, alone, for 3 days. They hadn't dropped appearances, been able to just be with one another in 3 days, because of their busy schedules. And it was making MetalSeadramon uneasy. It had been the longest they'd been seperated to date.

Today, his unfortunate blockade from seeing his lover was ocean patrol. Being the only seaworthy Dark Master gave him this as an almost daily duty, but things were growing especially tense since the Chosen Children had arrived on File Island. And from what he had gathered, Mugendramon had received the dreaded observation duty, a necessary but rather boring job that was the bane of all 3 of Piemon's underlings.

However, today there was a silver lining. Their schedules matched up rather nicely, so that as soon as Mugendramon finished his observation, MetalSeadramon would be arriving at the Master Chamber, having finished his patrol. The only problem was waiting. 3 days! It was ridiculous how long he'd been waiting, and now all that seperated the two of them were a few hours.

But MetalSeadramon would dutifully wait. It was, after all, for Mugendramon. And for him, he would do anything.


	7. Weeks

**008. Weeks**

Sometimes, a week is all it takes to turn enemies into soul mates.

Sometimes, a week is all it takes to turn a steady situation into a chaotic jumble of trying to hide from prying eyes that will not hesitate to kill you.

Sometimes, a week is all it takes to turn two cold, unfeeling individuals into the greatest of lovers.

And sometimes, a week is all it takes to have your world turned upside down, to have your heart ripped out, to have the very reason for your existence stolen away from you and leaving you an empty, broken shell.

Mugendramon knew how all of these felt. He had experienced all of them, and the first three, he wouldn't change for the world. Having MetalSeadramon in his life had been the best part of it. But it just made losing him all the more painful. It was as though someone had taken his heart and soul and utterly destroyed him. Now, he was merely a shell of pain and destruction who's only rhyme or reason was to destroy the reason for his unhappiness.

Now, conquering the Digital World meant nothing to him. Now, his only reason for living was to destroy WarGreymon.

Sometimes, a week is all it takes to allow anger to cloud your judgment and destroy you.


	8. Months

**009. Months**

MetalSeadramon wasn't very good at keeping time, especially from month to month. Whereas those who lived on land had weather and temperature to tell them what time of year it was, those who lived in the ocean had constant weather year-round.

There was, however, one month that jumped out at him; July. And it wasn't just because it was when the water was warmest, or because it was when the beaches were at their best.

It was because July was the month in which he had first met Mugendramon.

And even though he wouldn't live to see another July, the month would always stand out in his mind as the best of his life.


	9. Years

**009. Years**

Mugendramon had served Piemon for a great many years, ever since Piemon had saved him from the brink of death and given him a new body of metal and wires. He had spent many years helping Piemon to gain influence over the other lords of the Digital World, enslaving Digimon, and conquering the far corners of the Digital World. All those years he had believed that his life couldn't get any better.

Then he'd met MetalSeadramon.

And several weeks of being in love erased many years of pride and servitude. He honestly believed that maybe there was something more to life than fighting and enslaving and conquering.

And one day erased everything he had ever believed, except for thoughts of revenge.

And then he began thinking that maybe, those years _were_ the best years of his life. Because love had brought too much pain.


	10. Red

**011. Red**

Red meant a lot of things to Mugendramon.

Red was the color of blood, the blood of the thousands of Digimon he'd slain over his many years of serving Piemon.

Red was the color of anger, the anger that was infused into his very being. And the anger he'd felt on that fateful day, the day when he'd first met MetalSeadramon.

Red was the color of MetalSeadramon's eyes, the eyes he'd felt boring into him from their very first meeting, the eyes he'd come to adore.

Red was the color of love and passion, the love and passion he'd felt for his precious Metal-koibito.

Red was the color of blood, the blood of his lover spilled by WarGreymon.

Red was the color of rage, the rage he'd felt when he heard of this news.

Red was the color he saw when WarGreymon destroyed him.


	11. Orange

**012. Orange**

Orange was a color of contentment. A warm, constant glow of happiness.

That was how Mugendramon felt when he was with MetalSeadramon; calm, content. Like the rest of the world didn't matter.

Of course, this contentment could never last. Eventually they had to break away and go about their duties so that Piemon wouldn't become suspicious about the true nature of their relationship. And then those duties would be finished and they were free to be together again, to drop all pretenses and just be themselves.

Both knew that it wasn't going to last. The Chosen Children would soon come to Spiral Mountain, and they'd be fighting to the death; and the battle could very well go either way.

But at least they had it for now.


	12. Yellow

**013. Yellow**

Yellow was the color of joy and happiness. It shone unbelievably bright, like the sun.

MetalSeadramon had never understood that analogy until he had met Mugendramon. Then again, he'd never been truly _happy_ until he'd met Mugendramon, either. Oh, he'd thought he'd been happy, but until he saw Mugendramon lying there on that beach he had been wrong.

Now everything was yellow. Bright, happy. Mugendramon had become his sun, shining light onto his life. It may have sounded corny, but it was true. Until then he'd been swimming through the darkest ocean, his life murky and unclear. But Mugendramon had changed that.

Yellow was also an easy color to mess up. Because it was so light, so bright, it could easily be covered by darkness. MetalSeadramon also understood _that _analogy now. So many things could ruin his relationship with Mugendramon; if Piemon ever found out about it...if one of them fell while fighting the Chosen Children...

But MetalSeadramon chose not to think about that sort of thing. He and Mugendramon were in love, and they were feared by Digimon world over. Everything was good for now. He knew it wouldn't last; that yellow would become corrupted, that sun would be covered.

But he didn't want to think about it.

He just wanted to focus on the yellow, not the black.


	13. Green

**014. Green**

Green was the color of jealousy and envy.

Mugendramon never knew that emotion until today.

He and MetalSeadramon always spent their days together talking. Talking about anything and everything; what they'd done that day, who had happened to anger them, and most especially their old lives.

They had gotten on the subject of old aquaintances when MetalSeadramon had brought up MegaSeadramon. She had been his mate for many years prior to his joining the Dark Masters. He had even said outright to Mugendramon that sometimes, he missed her.

That was the first time Mugendramon had every felt jealous.

He hid it well, though. MetalSeadramon would think it was stupid that he was jealous of MegaSeadramon; after all, he knew that MetalSeadramon was in love with him and not that lesser Digimon. But he couldn't help it; Mugendramon could hear in MetalSeadramon's voice that he still cared for MegaSeadramon, if he didn't love her. And Mugendramon couldn't handle that. No matter how selfish it was, he wanted MetalSeadramon's heart to belong to him and him alone.

So, after MetalSeadramon left to patrol the oceans around Desktop, Mugendramon went to the beach where he had first met MetalSeadramon. Near where he knew MetalSeadramon's old home was. Near where he knew MegaSeadramon was still living. And he waited, and watched. And it didn't take long for him to see the same formation he saw when MetalSeadramon rose from the water, only plain red instead of brilliant gold.

Mugendramon could see why MetalSeadramon had fallen in love with her. She was graceful, perhaps not as graceful as him, but graceful none the less. Mugendramon could easily imagine MetalSeadramon as a MegaSeadramon, before he digivolved. He dared to move through the trees lining the shore to the beach itself; this creature was nothing to fear. She was only an Ultimate, no match for him. He sat in almost the same place where he had fallen asleep that fateful day during his patrol, and traced an infinity symbol in the sand.

MegaSeadramon finally noticed him after a few minutes and tensed. He didn't care. He barely acknowledged her presence as she swam closer to the shore.

"You are the Dark Master Mugendramon, yes?" she asked. He looked up.

"What does it matter to you?" he asked. She was articulate, learned. Intelligent. It didn't help the jealousy factor.

"There is one named MetalSeadramon among your ranks. He is my mate. I just wanted to ask--"

"He is not yours." Mugendramon hissed, rising to his feet. MegaSeadramon was taken aback by his proclomation. "He left you to become one of the Dark Masters. He left you to join _me_. He is _mine_ now." MegaSeadramon quickly overcame her surprise and glowered at him.

"We are sworn to each other."

"That promise no longer means anything. He gave it up to become one of _us._ Now he belongs only to _me._" he hissed.

"You can't possibly have the sort of claim on him that I do. We have been lovers for many years--"

"He loves _me_."

"Wow, I'm amazingly popular today."

Both turned to see MetalSeadramon lounging, the lower half of his body underwate, the upper half lying across the shore. MegaSeadramon was shocked to see him there, but Mugendramon wasn't. It was a while past when he was supposed to meet him; he would have been getting worried.

"You were late." he said, turning to Mugendramon, confirming his theory.

"I had a desire for nostalgia." he explained. MetalSeadramon rolled his eyes.

"You're weird."

MegaSeadramon was watching them the whole time, feeling as though she was going to cry. Even from this casual conversation she could ascertain how deep their relationship went. Mugendramon had not been lying when he'd said that MetalSeadramon loved him, that he had left her for him. There was passion in their words. They were soul mates.

Eventually, Mugendramon seemed to grow weary of standing around the beach, and starting looking nervously at the advancing tide. He left to return to Spiral Mountain, leaving the two Seadramon.

"Sorry about him. I guess he's kind of possessive." MetalSeadramon said. "I guess it makes sense, since I am the only one he ever remembers caring about him."

"You left to be with him." she said, trying very hard not to let her voice crack.

"I didn't have much of a choice, love. It's like choosing whether or not to breathe." he explained.

"You don't miss the ocean? Being able to swim freely with the one you love at your side?" she asked. He laughed.

"Of course I miss it. But Mugendramon's given up a lot for me. It's a small price to pay." he said. "Well, I better be going. He'll be mad."

"Will you visit?" she asked.

"No." he replied earnestly. "Spiral Mountain is my home now. The ocean is just my workplace." he explained. "My place is wherever Mugendramon wants me to be."

And with that, he left.

* * *

"I can see why you loved her."

MetalSeadramon secretly wondered if he would ever fall in love with someone normal.

"Do you really have to be melodramatic?" he asked. "Yeah, I loved her. But now I love you. So just get over it, okay?" He leaned closer to Mugendramon. "I could leave the ocean forever, never to set a fin in water again. I could give up all my power, all of my status. I could even give up _eating_, Mugendramon. But if I ever gave up loving you, I think I'd die." Before Mugendramon could do anything, MetalSeadramon leaned in and kissed him. While they were engrossed in the moment, MetalSeadramon wound himself around Mugendramon and Mugendramon dug his claws into MetalSeadramon's hair.

"I love you." MetalSeadramon breathed. "Don't ever doubt that."

"I won't."

Mugendramon never knew jealousy again.


	14. Blue

**015. Blue**

Blue was calm, serene. Blue was also the color of the ocean in the bright sun.

Blue was what MetalSeadramon's life had been like before he had met Mugendramon.

Endless days spent traveling the seas, only stopping to take care of the most dire of needs, one day flowing gradually into the other, time warping until you just didn't care anymore.

Now, his life followed a strict schedule, where every wasted minute could cost you your life. Time to enjoy yourself only came if you did your job well in the eyes of Piemon. Fortuneately, MetalSeadramon did—but he no longer spent his time in the gentle caress of the ocean.

He'd forsaken the blue for the grey.

Grey, the color of steel. Grey, the color of the one thing he had learned that he couldn't live without any more than he could stop breathing.

Back then, he'd thought he couldn't live without the blue. But the grey had come along and changed all that.

He would have never set foot in water again if it meant being with Mugendramon forever, but Mugendramon wouldn't let him. He knew he needed the blue as much as he needed the grey.

It was the blue that eventually claimed MetalSeadramon's life. The blue seperated him from the grey.

He couldn't have it both ways.


	15. Purple

**016. Purple**

Purple was the color of MetalSeadramon's hair.

MetalSeadramon was quite vain when it came to his appearance. Mugendramon couldn't complain; MetalSeadramon was beautiful. And very proud of his hair. Mugendramon loved his hair almost as much as he did; he would always absentmindedly pull his claws gently through it whenever they were together.

Mugendramon's favorite color was purple. He was sure MetalSeadramon's was, too.

Mugendramon gently pulled his claws through MetalSeadramon's perfect hair as they sat by the pool in the Master Chamber, as always.

"Why do you do that?"

Mugendramon turned to look at MetalSeadramon, who had wrapped himself around him and set his head on his shoulder as he usually did.

"Do what?" he asked.

"You always stroke my hair like that." he said.

"I don't know why I do it." Mugendramon replied. "I suppose I just like your hair." MetalSeadramon laughed.

"That's a strange thing for you to say." he said.

"I suppose it is." he replied.

"I can't say that I blame you." MetalSeadramon said. Mugendramon would have rolled his eyes if he could. MetalSeadramon could be so vain sometimes. But that was just another think he loved about him. "I _am_ the only Digimon with hair this great." he boasted.

"You're the only one with hair like that at all, Metal-koibito. You're one of a kind." Mugendramon reminded him.

"All the more to boast about." MetalSeadramon replied with a sly grin. "C'mon, you love my hair. You said so yourself."

"Yes, I love your hair. I love everything about you. You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen." MetalSeadramon laughed again.

"You know, for a guy who says he doesn't have many emotions, you sure are a sap." he said. "I'm one to talk, though. I'd say the same thing."

"Including yourself?" Mugendramon asked jokingly. MetalSeadramon nuzzled him.

"'Course. Don'cha know I see myself through rose colored glasses? With you, I don't need 'em." he explained.

Mugendramon's favorite color was still purple, but he learned that day that MetalSeadramon's was grey.


	16. Brown

**017. Brown**

Brown was plain, dreary. It was a boring, common color that never really drew MetalSeadramon's eye. He didn't hate the color, it just didn't catch his eye.

Mugendramon, on the other hand, _liked_ the color brown. Next to purple, it was his favorite color. He liked colors that didn't attract attention. And maybe it was also because it was a very earthy color. He was tired of steel and wires; he had been surrounded by the dull grey of mechanics for many years. The only metal he never grew tired of was the beautiful golden shine of MetalSeadramon's armor.

They had a lot of differing opinions and manneurisms such as this one; MetalSeadramon's natural attraction to water, Mugendramon's repulsion from it, Mugendramon's severe reactions to emotion, the way MetalSeadramon took all of the turning tides of emotion in stride. They were complete opposites.

Maybe that was why they fit together so perfectly. The solid steel and the ever-changing tide.

The calm brown and the violent red.


	17. Black

**018. Black**

Black was a suppressing, constant color of darkness.

Black was the color of a void.

Black was how Mugendramon felt when he heard of MetalSeadramon's death. Like everything had been sucked out of him and replaced with a choking darkness.

The black was quickly replaced by the red, the red of rage. Rage at WarGreymon and Taichi for destroying his very soul. Rage at Piemon for allowing MetalSeadramon to go out and try to destroy the Chosen Children when he clearly wasn't powerful enough to face them alone.

Then WarGreymon's claws ripped him apart, and the black returned. Only now it wasn't an empty void; it was a welcoming blanket. It had been his plan all along to die; if WarGreymon hadn't destroyed him, if he'd destroyed _him_, he would have found some way to die anyway; perhaps anger Piemon. It would have been a slow and painful death, but a death none the less.

The black meant that he could be with MetalSeadramon again.


	18. White

**019. White**

White was a color of purity.

White wasn't a color normally associated with Mugendramon or MetalSeadramon; by those enslaved, they were associated with red and black, colors of death and despair. By their comrades they were associated with a blancd color, perhaps beige; they were no more than wall furnishings to them. By each other they were associated with grey and blue, respectively.

Even they didn't find each other pure.

Mugendramon knew MetalSeadramon wasn't pure; he couldn't be, if he had fallen in love with a monster like him. The pure didn't fall in love with the unpure. MetalSeadramon's white had been turned black, black with the evil that had rubbed off onto him every time they touched.

MetalSeadramon also knew that Mugendramon wasn't pure; maybe he had been in the past, but he had been corrupted by Piemon. Mugendramon's white had been turned red, red with the blood Piemon had made him spill.

Both of them knew they weren't pure, and that was okay. You didn't need to be pure to be in love.

They knew they were proof enough of that.


	19. Colourless

**020. Colourless**

Colourless was the perfect way to describe Mugendramon's years in Piemon's servitude. His life was bleak and unemotional, filled with continuous desctruction and killing. He lived only to serve Piemon. He thought he was happy, but really, he was devoid of emotion. He never knew pleasure, or pain. For all his intelligence he was a mindless killing machine.

Then MetalSeadramon came along.

Suddenly, everything changed. The spilling of blood didn't attract him as it once did; now that he could see the crimson that had been their life, it only made his run cold. Killing was now just another duty he did prudently to avoid _being_ killed.

Life had color now. And it frightened him.

But MetalSeadramon had lived being able to see the colors of life for many years, although he had never seen them as vividly as he had after he met Mugendramon. He wouldn't let Mugendramon be afraid of them.


	20. Friends

**021. Friends**

Friendship was one thing Piemon did not approve of. He believed that any emotional ties kept his servants from operating at their peaks. He was one of few exceptions, because he knew his relationships with his wife LadyDevimon and his fellow Digital Overlord and friend of many years Vamdemon didn't hinder his ability to control the Digital World.

The only other exception he made was for Mugendramon and MetalSeadramon.

He had never known Mugendramon to be the kind of Digimon to care about anything but his own well being and his work. But after MetalSeadramon had come along, they spent a lot of time together. He allowed them that much, because both were very faithful followers and they did their work efficiently.

But after a while, he began to get suspicious.

It became so that every waking moment they weren't working, they spent toegether, holed up in the Master Chamber. He never set foot in that place, and Pinnochimon, as unintelligent as he was, knew not to bother his more powerful comrades. There was no way to know what went on between them, but he felt that it might have been more than friendly.

But he overlooked it. They would be serperated soon. It wouldn't matter.

He knew neither of them would survive fighting the Chosen Children. Only he was strong enough to do that.

He'd let them have their 'friendship'. It would be the last good thing in their lives.


	21. Enemies

**022. Enemies**

Mugendramon didn't hate the Chosen Children.

They were his enemies, yes, but he didn't _hate_ them. He had been brought back from the brink of death to destroy them, so he strived to destroy them. If he didn't, Piemon would destroy him.

Mugendramon realized that the Chosen Children were just human kids who were trying to do something way beyond their maturity level.

But he would do anything to be able to stay with MetalSeadramon. So he vowed to kill the Chosen Children for his sake.

And then, the Chosen Children killed MetalSeadramon.

That was when things became personal. Now he didn't just _have_ to kill the Chosen Children; he _wanted_ to. They had taken everything from him, and he wanted to take everything from them.

The drive for life became a drive for revenge.

It was the first time he had considered the Chosen Children his enemies. And not the last.


	22. Lovers

**023. Lovers**

Love was a difficult concept for Mugendramon to understand. His body of metal and wires was not supposed to be able to feel such emotions; his recently discovered heart conflicted with his brain. But he wouldn't trade the feeling for anything. He loved MetalSeadramon more than he loved life.

MetalSeadramon, on the other hand, was not foreign to the feeling of love. He'd been in love with his former mate, MegaSeadramon. But being with Mugendramon was different. It was like comparing skotch and fine, vintage wine; he could live without MegaSeadramon, but his thirst for Mugendramon was never ending.

But love was painful, too. When the two had to be around each other and pretend to be indifferent, it felt like their hearts were being ripped out. And it was painful to know that none of it could last; they lived dangerous lives, where one mistake could kill them. And the happier they were when they were together, the more painful it was to say goodbye.

And when MetalSeadramon died, the pain suddenly stopped. No longer did Mugendramon feel that painful tug when he looked towards the pool where MetalSeadramon had to sit and listen to Piemon talk, ignoring him, when all he really wanted to do was return to the Master Chamber. He didn't have to think about how long it would last; it was already over. And he never had to say goodbye again; it had been a clean break.

Mugendramon couldn't feel that pain anymore, because love didn't exist anymore. His heart had died with MetalSeadramon. A Digimon without a heart couldn't feel pain.

He was now just metal and wires, and maybe it was better that way.

Because love was too painful.


	23. Family

**024. Family**

MetalSeadramon had had a family, a long time ago. He was only a Betamon when they had been destroyed, and all he remembered about them was that they loved him.

Mugendramon couldn't remember if he'd ever had a family. His memories of his days as an organic Digimon had been erased when Piemon had given him a new body.

Being a Dark Master was kind of like being a part of a sick, twisted family. Or maybe more of a morbid brethren.

They had both seen families, destroyed them.

But neither of them really knew what having a family was like.

Maybe that was a good thing. If they knew what it was like to be a part of a family, could they destroy one so easily? And if they couldn't bring themselves to destroy a family, could they destroy anything, really? Even if not doing do meant _being_ destroyed?

But they did have a family. They were each others family.

And hearing about MetalSeadramon's death, Mugendramon knew immediately all the pain that he had put those Digimon through by taking one of their family.

The Chosen Children were kind of like a family. Would it bring him satisfaction to destroy _their_ family, after they destroyed his? Could he put even MetalSeadramon's killers through the pain he felt right now?

In the end, he didn't get that choice. He sat and watched as Taichi, the driving force behind MetalSeadramon's death, was reunited with his younger sister, and didn't think it fair that they could have their family and he couldn't. He was prepared to rip Hikari to shreds, to show Taichi what it felt like to lose such a big part of yourself.

WarGreymon cut him to ribbons before he had the chance.

It was a shame, really, that Taichi would go through life happy, not knowing how much suffering he had caused; not knowing the pain that his partner had inflicted on him.


	24. Strangers

**025. Strangers**

Killing Digimon had never really weighed heavy on Mugendramon's soul. Piemon wanted them dead, so he killed them. There was no need to feel remorseful about it; it was as natural as breathing to him.

But it became harder after he fell in love with MetalSeadramon.

Before then, Mugendramon hadn't thought of them as beings with lives and hearts and souls. To him, they had been nameless strangers, fodder for his bloodlust, obstacles in Piemon's way that he needed to remove. Now, every time his claws sliced through flesh, it occured to him that these Digimon could very well be someone's MetalSeadramon; they were no longer nameless, or faceless. From the first day he'd been with MetalSeadramon in the Master Chamber onwards, he remembered the face of every Digimon he ever killed. He spent endless hours in recharge wondering who's soul he had destroyed by killing that Digimon; were they someone who wouldn't be missed? Or had he ripped someone's heart out by killing them?

These strangers were all as much a part of someone as much as MetalSeadramon was a part of him, he soon realized.

It didn't take long for him to realize how these strangers felt. And maybe losing MetalSeadramon was a punishment for destroying all those lives.

But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to teach that lesson to the Chosen Children in turn. Those children weren't like the strangers he spent endless nights thinking about; they weren't strangers at all. They were murderers.

Just like him.


	25. Teammates

**A/N:** Sorry for not updating this for so long. I got sidetracked by other fandoms. But I'm back now. In other news, I've had someone point out to me that these don't really have a specific time line or any sense of flow—sometimes I say MetalSeadramon has been in the Dark Masters for years, sometimes I say he's only been a part of them for one, stuff like that. This is because they're not really supposed to have any flow or time line, I mostly just write what I think fits with the prompt, keeping only some things consistent (MegaSeadramon being MetalSeadramon's former mate, Mugendramon having been saved by Piemon and given a metal body, stuff like that). I don't really pay much attention to keeping the time line consistent. If you want to be really nitpicky, actual canon implies that MetalSeadramon has been a part of the Dark Masters for at least quite a few years prior to his death, so if you want to overlook prompts like 'Months', go ahead.

* * *

**026. Teammates**

It would have been an over exaggeration to say that Mugendramon hated Pinnochimon. He didn't _hate_ his vastly more immature teammate, per say—at least, he didn't anymore. Back when he'd first joined the Dark Masters, he would have given almost anything to be able to destroy the forest master. Nowadays, however, he found himself distinctly less hateful towards the little menace, although no less annoyed by him. He attributed his changed attitude towards the puppet to his lack of desire to kill things anymore, but in all honesty, he'd come to realize that Pinnochimon was, in fact, a valuable member of the Dark Masters. After all, he was loyal to the end, bringing the total of Dark Masters truly loyal to Piemon to a healthy sum of one, and with him constantly vying for Piemon's attention, it often drew said attention _away_ from him and MetalSeadramon.

However, when Piemon was busy, or merely not in the mood to deal with Pinnochimon, the smallest of the Dark Masters took to turning his attention towards his other two teammates. Usually he didn't bother them, since even _he_ knew better, but neither Mugendramon nor MetalSeadramon liked the fact that he was paying them so much mind. If he were ever to find out about the true nature of their relationship, he would inevitably tell Piemon, who would regard them as liabilities and kill them. Dark Masters weren't supposed to have hearts; the only reason Piemon trusted them with their duties was because he was assured they had given up all traces of them when they had joined. If he ever realized the _true_ nature of their relationship, there would be trouble, of the undoubtedly deadly variety. Needless to say, their number one reason for missing time together was because Pinnochimon was being nosy and they simply couldn't risk it.

This was one such a time. Mugendramon had been on his way to the beach (the Master Chamber was being cleaned by Piemon's servants, since the last time Mugendramon and MetalSeadramon had been in there, one of Piemon's Vilemon had not only interrupted them, but had also seen them embracing, which obviously meant he had to die; unfortunately, their attacks had been a little _too_ strong, and had caused a fair bit of collateral damage) when Pinnochimon had intercepted him and began bothering him about where he was going. He tried to deflect his attention, and when that failed, he attempted to merely tell him to shove off, but the forest master would simply not listen. And it wasn't as though he could simply _tell_ him where he was going, because it was fairly common knowledge that he hated water, especially the ocean, because his system was so sensitive to it. There was simply no reason for him to go to the beach, not on his free time, as far as Pinnochimon knew.

"Where are you going?" the curious Dark Master asked, following Mugendramon through the halls of Spiral Mountain.

"That's none of your concern." Mugendramon growled.

"Yes it is." Pinnochimon rebutted. "I have to make sure you're not doing something Piemon wouldn't approve of." he explained.

"Which are you more afraid of, Pinnochimon," Mugendramon growled, turning his head towards the significantly smaller Dark Master. "Me doing something that would anger Piemon, no doubt resulting in my untimely and stupid demise, or me shooting you for being annoying?" Pinnochimon stuck out his tongue at his elder Dark Master.

"You wouldn't dare." he said "Piemon _definitely_ wouldn't approve of that." Mugendramon chuckled, a throaty and mechanical sound.

"You would be surprised what Piemon does and does not approve of." he said. "I'm certain it would _annoy_ him if I killed you, because it would mean having to replace you, but I highly doubt he'd be upset enough about your death to get rid of _me_." Pinnochimon physically _reeled_ at the idea, dramatically throwing his hands up.

"You're...you're lying!" he shouted, clenching his fists. Mugendramon waved his claw.

"Believe that if it makes you feel better." he said. "You know Piemon doesn't care about any of us. We're just his soldiers, his tools. He only cares about himself, and LadyDevimon. And possibly Vamdemon." The younger Dark Master was visible _shaking_, whether out of anger or out of fear that what he was saying was true, Mugendramon wasn't sure.

"You—you—" Before he could even finish what he was saying, he stormed off in a rage, screaming indiscriminately. Mugendramon wasn't sure if he was speaking another language (he knew, for all his childishness, that Pinnochimon was actually fairly good at retaining information, and that Piemon had taught him a few different ones), or if he was just spouting random gibberish. He watched the forest master storm down the hall, and would have grinned, had he been able to.

"Maybe I was a bit hard on him." he muttered to himself. "Oh well. Off to the beach."


	26. Parents

**A/N:** Sorry guys! I need to start being _way_ better about updating this, I know Dx I just get distracted by other fandoms a _lot_, as you can probably tell from what I'm been publishing lately. Also I've gotten back into video games in a big way, so that takes away a lot of time from my writing. And I got a tablet, so I've been drawing a lot, too. Basically I've been doing everything _but_ working on this, apologies! I'll get right back to work. Also, warning: this may or may not apply to this prompt, and for all I know it may not apply to any prompts I write, or maybe I've already done it, I dunno, but I'm very inconsistent with name of locations and stuff. I use the directly translated Japanese names for all of the characters, rather than the dub names (Mugendramon instead of Machinedramon, Piemon instead of Piedmon, Pinnochimon instead of Puppetmon, etc.), but since I haven't seen the sub in a _very_ long time, I rely on the dub for names of other things I don't know off the top of my head. Sorry folks!

**027. Parents**

It started out with an idle question, born of equally idle curiosity and boredom. He honestly didn't want to turn it into anything, but he _had_ always wondered.

"MetalSeadramon...do you have parents?" he asked. MetalSeadramon raised his head from his shoulder, twisting himself around to be able to look directly at Mugendramon. The sensation of his armor scraping Mugendramon's metal exterior as he unwrapped himself slightly to give himself more leeway was just enough for Mugendramon to be able to feel it; not much made it past his thick "skin" to what was left of his sensory receptors, so it was almost a treat when something actually _pleasant_ did. He carefully studied the expression on MetalSeadramon's face; his head was turned away slightly, a faraway look in his eyes.

"I used to." he replied honestly. "It was...a long time ago. Back before I was a MetalSeadramon..._the _MetalSeadramon. I don't remember much about them, other than that they raised me." he explained. Mugendramon ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you...remember what happened to them?" he asked, nervous about touching on such a delicate subject. MetalSeadramon's eyes narrowed, not from anger, but in thought.

"...kind of." he replied. "I must have still been a Betamon then. I remember being very confused and frightened and just...wondering what was going on. I remember them yelling at me to get away, so I did. I hid. I remember them screaming, and I remember coming out of my hiding place and finding them gone. I don't know what attacked them, or what it did, but..." He trailed off, his jaw tightening. Mugendramon tilted his face back towards him, in the closest thing to a comforting gesture as he could manage.

"We have the entire world at our fingertips now. We could find out." he suggested. MetalSeadramon rubbed his face against the side of Mugendramon's claw, then shook his head.

"No, it's fine. I doubt anyone would know much, anyway. It was a really long time ago, and they were just two Seadramon...nobody would remember who they were, with the thousands of Seadramon out there." he pointed out. "Anyway, I've put it behind me. And anyone we asked would probably look at me funny if I said I was looking for the person who killed my parents. So few Digimon actually _have_ parents anymore." Mugendramon nodded; it was true. Most Digimon nowadays simply hatched at the Primary Village. Or, at least, they did until Piemon created Spiral Mountain and tainted the village, making it impossible for any Digimon to hatch from there. It was a way of keeping order; without the reassurance that they would be reincarnated at the Primary Village after death, the fear of the masses increased ten fold, as did Piemon's control over them. "What about you? Do you remember if you hatched or if you had parents, at least?" he asked. Mugendramon thought hard, trying to dredge up the few memories he retained from the time before Piemon saved him, but couldn't remember anything to do with the matter of his birth. He shook his head, and MetalSeadramon sighed; not an irritated sigh, more of a pitying sigh. Normally, if anyone showed him pity, Mugendramon would have digitized them in an instant, but MetalSeadramon was essentially his exception to everything. "Must be hard, not being able to remember anything..." he said. Mugendramon shook his head.

"I don't have to remember anything about my life before the Dark Masters." he replied. "I have you now. That's all that really matters." MetalSeadramon laughed with honest amusement, not mockery.

"You know, for a machine, you're awfully sentimental." he pointed out, rubbing his face against Mugendramon's.

"And who's fault is that?" he asked, continuing to run his claws through MetalSeadramon's hair.

"I'll take _full_ responsibility." he replied, resting his head on Mugendramon's shoulder and sighing again. "You'll remember. Some day."

"And you'll find out what happened to your parents."

MetalSeadramon pulled his head from Mugendramon's shoulder and looked directly at him, and they both laughed. Because that stuff really didn't matter any more.


	27. Children

**028. Children**

Mugendramon walked up behind MetalSeadramon, carefully watching the screen that was meant to be used to keep tabs on the Chosen Children. However, it was currently focused on a familiar beach, zoomed in close enough to see several Betamon playing on the sandy shore while two Seadramon watched from the nearby shallows, draped across an outcrop of rocks to warm themselves in the unusually sunny weather. He didn't want to startle him, so he just stood back and waited for MetalSeadramon to notice him. Eventually the other Dark Master managed to draw his attention away from the screen for long enough to take notice of a second presence in the room, turning around to see Mugendramon standing there.

"Oh, Mugendramon." he said with an air of surprise. "I thought you had patrol duty." he said. Mugendramon looked at the oddly shaped clock on the wall.

"I did," he replied. "About an hour and a half ago. Have you been here all this time?" he asked. MetalSeadramon cast his gaze towards the floor, almost bashfully, and cleared his throat.

"Yeah." he replied honestly. "I figured out that Piemon really doesn't care if you use this thing for whatever you want, as long as you're not on watch duty, so I sometimes come here when you're busy." he explained. Mugendramon nodded towards the screen.

"Is that your beach?" he asked, even though he already knew. He always referred to the beach where they had first met as MetalSeadramon's beach, because it was a well known fact that it was one of the few areas not in the open sea under his jurisdiction, and Mugendramon really didn't care about any of the others. MetalSeadramon nodded.

"There's a large colony of Seadramon who live in the underwater cavern system nearby. I remember it from when I used to live there, a long time ago." he said. "I've never seen any of them couple up and have kids, though. Most of the Seadramon there are pretty solitary creatures." Mugendramon watched two of the Betamon play fighting, then turned towards MetalSeadramon.

"Times are grim. For everyone else, that is." he said, skillfully avoiding the fact that they were a major part of the reason _why_ things were grim. "I suppose it's just a part of our nature to want to seek companionship when we can't find happiness anywhere else. The more you surround yourself with a person, or people, who love you, the easier it is to forget the bad things." he pointed out. MetalSeadramon nodded.

"Deep." he said. "You sure you weren't a scholar in your past life?" he asked. Mugendramon let out a mechanical chuckle.

"I'm sure it just comes with the super computer for a brain." he replied. He nodded towards the screen again. "Do you miss it?" he asked. MetalSeadramon turned towards him with a questioning look on his face.

"Miss what?" he asked.

"The chance to have all of that." Mugendramon replied. "You and MegaSeadramon could have had all of that. You're saying you don't miss the chance to have something like that?" he asked. MetalSeadramon laughed.

"If I didn't have you, it would be nice, yeah." he replied. "But I'd rather have you any day." he said, moving over beside Mugendramon and coiling around him.

"And you wonder why I always get so sentimental. Obviously I picked it up from _you_." he said. He shook his head with a mechanical sigh. "Sometimes I wonder what I've done right in life to deserve you." he said as MetalSeadramon nuzzled the side of his head, a fanged grin splitting his face.

"Existed." was his honest reply. "Let's go. I'm bored of looking at this thing." he said, unwrapping himself from around Mugendramon, who reached over and pulled down the small lever (to the two of them, at least—for either Piemon or Pinnochimon, they would have needed to use both hands to so much as budge it) with a flick of his claw, cutting off all power to the system.

As they left, he spared one glance back at the monitor, and wondered why he did this sort of thing to himself.


	28. Birth

**A/N: **Have any of you noticed how most of these prompts _start_ following the prompt, but end with completely pointless fluff? Also, holy crap, has it been _that_ long since I last updated this? ALSO ALSO try not to imagine Mugendramon (and therefore MetalSeadramon) so _horrifically big_ for this and other writings. I always tend to write him a little smaller than he actually is.

**029. Birth**

* * *

The Digital World was not a constant. Nothing about it ever stayed the same for long, and the world was practically _built_ on the concept of change; any creature within it that did not change and evolve would get left behind in the dust as the world expanded. The weak had to evolve to become stronger if they wished to survive in the Digital World. It was how things had always been. Or, at least, that was what Mugendramon had learned through extensive study.

'Mugendramon' had technically only existed for a few decades, although the parts used to make him had existed for as long as any other Digimon. The biggest part of his make up, his conscious mind, had been salvaged from a dying Digimon that Piemon had encountered during his travels; most of his physical body had been salvaged from Piemon's enemies, such as the MetalGreymon and Megadramon that his hands had been taken from. He was supposed to be the epitome of mechanical perfection, the strongest Machine Digimon ever to exist.

That was far from the truth.

In reality, Mugendramon had as many weaknesses as any other Digimon, in spite of all of his strength. Sure, he could blast through entire armies with his Infinity Cannon while barely lifting a finger, and baby Digimon tended to cry at the sound of his name, but he was not the perfect soldier Piemon had expected him to be when he'd created him. He'd made one fatal mistake; he'd developed _feelings_.

* * *

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._ Stones were crushed underfoot as Mugendramon paced around the outskirts of his city, reduced to little more than sand under his incredible weight. Although his expressionless face did not show it, something he was thankful for, the Dark Master was worried.

More than a decade had passed since the Chosen Children had departed for their own world in order to stop Vamdemon, thanks to the warp in time between the two worlds that caused time in the Digital World to pass by much quicker than time in the human world. There it had only been a handful of days. Watching the children in their fight against the vampire Digimon was like looking at a slide-show.

Mugendramon told himself every day that Vamdemon would defeat the Chosen Children and they would have nothing to worry about; like the rest of them, the Undead King had been chosen by Piemon himself to work directly under the Dark Masters and wouldn't soon let them down. It was difficult to delude himself, however. He knew that one day and one day soon, the Chosen Children would return to the Digital World and shatter the peace of the Dark Masters.

He stomped his way back into his city and into his underground cavern. His central room of operations was much more spacious than the streets of his home, and quite welcome. One wall was made up entirely of his screen with only a few small consoles for the use of his Hagurumon advisers and servants. The two of them, working away, looked up when they heard the unmistakeable sound of his thundering footsteps.

"Oh, master Mugendramon, how may we serve you today?" one of them asked. Mugendramon merely growled deeply.

"Get out of here," he grumbled. "I have important business to attend to and wish to be alone." Between his menacing tone and the fact that he was simply their master, they quickly complied and floated off for parts unknown. The master of the Metal Empire settled in for the duration and turned his attention to the screen. "Computer, contact MetalSeadramon's headquarters." he said. After a few moments of gentle beeping, the computer chimed in with its emotionless synthesized voice.

"_Unable to comply with request,_" it replied. "_No response._"

Mugendramon slouched back, drumming his claws against the floor. Of course MetalSeadramon was busy, Piemon had been forcing him to work particularly hard lately- being the newest member meant that the master of the Deep Savers had a lot of kinks to work out in his rule and Piemon absolutely did _not_ tolerate mistakes.

"_Sensors detect over-processing of several vital systems, Lord Mugendramon,_" the computer announced. "_Would you like me to initiate diagnostic and repair protocols?_"

"No, computer, they are merely over-processing due to stress. Resume normal duties." he sighed. The device had been a gift from Piemon, something to aid him in monitoring and controlling Multitask City, but now he was always terrified of letting the thing inside of his brain. He had no idea how much sensory information the diagnostic program could detect and there were things he certainly wanted to keep secret from the leader of the Dark Masters. His fatal flaw.

Mugendramon was not the perfect soldier he was expected to be- the perfect soldier had no weaknesses, put nothing ahead of his mission. This was how he had been designed to be, but along the way he had rediscovered his organic influences, and along with them, something he would have sacrificed his entire mission for any day. And that thing was MetalSeadramon.

He had no idea _how_, exactly, he'd been able to bypass Piemon's reprogramming and find his emotions again. Perhaps the clown Digimon had missed something during the process, or perhaps the part of the "soul" that controlled that part of him was inaccessible in Piemon's tampering. Or perhaps MetalSeadramon was just that special. It was impossible to tell, really. He let out a deep, troubled sigh, something difficult for his synthetic voice processors to handle.

"Computer," he said. "Resume search for 'dramon forest village guardian'."

"_Resuming search protocol,_" the voice chimed. Data filtered through the screen at a rate too fast for normal eyes to see, but Mugendramon's super-computer brain picked all of it up easily.

The only thing Mugendramon remembered from his life before Piemon's reconfiguration was a small Digimon village settled deep within the forest, a village that he, an Ultimate level Digimon, protected. He wasn't sure what drove him to search for his past, whether it be simple curiosity or a subconscious desire to see what Piemon had taken him from- but whatever it was, his search had been so far unsuccessful.

"_Mugendramon, sir,_" the voice chimed. "_Search 'dramon forest village guardian' has produced one relevant result. Result format: .vid file, 0:23 seconds, accessed from Lord Apocalymon's Universal Surveillance system. Classified as 'Level Eight Clearance'._"

Level Eight clearance meant it was available only to Apocalymon and Piemon, which meant that it was something they wanted hidden from the other Dark Masters. Which meant it very well could be the clue Mugendramon had been looking for.

"Computer, turn off all programs related to independent intelligence processing and switch the system to manual mode," he ordered. With a quiet _beep_ of affirmation, the computer system did as it was told. Mugendramon quickly plugged himself into the system and began rooting through the files.

The first thing he did was erase the computer history, as he always did, coupled with booting up a routine that would hide his actions while in manual mode; he doubted that Piemon kept an eye on his usage, he wasn't the most tech-savvy Digimon Mugendramon had ever met, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. The second thing he did was pull up the video result from his search, address archived in his own personal memory banks, and push his way through Apocalymon's clearance. It wasn't particularly difficult, not for him; he was the perfect example of machine Digimon evolution, after all. If he couldn't bypass a few passwords and identification protocols, he'd be worthless. The third thing he did was start the playback on the video.

Both on screen and within his processors themselves, hooked into the system, Mugendramon watched an unidentifiable Dramon-type Digimon quarrelling with a Minervamon. The God Man Digimon seemed to be at a disadvantage until she managed to land a fatal strike with her sword, burying it in the other Digimon's chest. When she pulled it back out, the Dramon-type fell over, blood pouring from the gaping wound in his chest. The video stopped there.

Mugendramon immediately disconnected from the computer system, slumping back in a daze. He was unable to process the information he had been presented with. Had that really been his past? He wanted to believe otherwise, that he hadn't been struck down like that, but for what other reason would Piemon and Apocalymon wish to _hide_ it?

After a few moments had passed, he reconnected himself to the system and triangulated the place the video had been taken, using the species of trees present in the area and the angle of the shadows compared to the time of day.

Luckily, although it was a part of their ultimate plan, Piemon had not yet reconfigured the Digital World into Spiral Mountain; he was saving it for what he called "the grand finale". He always _had_ enjoyed a good show, and the battle with the Chosen Children was bound to fit the bill. This meant that the forest in the video had not been destroyed or relocated; it was where it had always been, which would make his trip much easier.

At the same time as his triangulations, he also booted the AI system back up after once again deleting his action history. The computer immediately chimed in.

"_Incoming call from _MetalSeadramon_, sir,_" the system said cheerfully, MetalSeadramon's name spoken in his own voice. Mugendramon sighed deeply, not in irritation but in relief.

"Computer, put the call through," he said. Almost immediately, the image of his lover, poised in front of his own automated computer terminal in his system of underwater caverns, dominated his screen. "Metal-koibito, I was hoping to talk to you. In person, preferably. Are you busy right now?" he asked.

"I'm supposed to be on patrol," he replied. "But, you know, if you wanted to come _with_ me, I'm sure Piemon wouldn't _care_."

Mugendramon nodded. "I may have to take you up on your suggestion," he replied. "Where would you like to meet?"

"How about Crash Beach? It's not far from Multitask City and I can be anywhere in my kingdom in no time." he suggested. Mugendramon nodded.

"I'll see you soon then, my heart," he said, as MetalSeadramon put his head to his computer monitor. Mugendramon put a hand out and placed it over MetalSeadramon's face. With that, they both disconnected, and Mugendramon turned to his AI system. "Computer, wipe logs and recorded memory." With a _beep_, the system obliged, and Mugendramon made his way to meet his lover.

* * *

Crash Beach was just as desolate and abandoned as the other areas around Multitask City. Mugendramon's presence was enough to keep Digimon more or less away; you were foolish if you didn't fear the mechanical Dark Master. The day was cloudy, bearing grey seas the lapped against the white sands. Mugendramon stood where the grassy plains he'd come through met the beach so as to not get too close to the water.

It didn't take long for the calm surf to break and MetalSeadramon to appear before him, in all of his shining golden glory. It was hard for him not to be mesmerized by the Armoured King of the Sea.

"Did you call me out here just to gawk or was there actually something you wanted to talk about?" he asked, slithering his way onto the beach and keeping his distance as he waited for the water to roll off of his armour. "Not that I mind, you're cute when you get distracted and just _stare_ like that."

Mugendramon snapped to attention. "Ah. Yes. Well, follow me, I can explain on the way." he said, turning and motioning for MetalSeadramon to follow. The ocean-bound Dark Master obeyed and followed without question, flying lower to the ground than he probably should to keep at eye-contact level with Mugendramon.

"Uh- where, exactly, are we on the way to?" he asked after a few moments of travel. Mugendramon turned his head towards him.

"Do you remember what I told you about my past? Before I became a member of the Dark Masters?" he asked. MetalSeadramon turned his head and thought hard.

"Bits and pieces," he replied. "You never really told me the full story, all at once."

"Back before the Dark Masters had been truly _formed_, I was a fully organic Digimon," Mugendramon explained. MetalSeadramon moved closer to him as he walked and the Seadramon evolution flew, almost brushing up against him as they moved. "Other than that, I remember very little about my past- Piemon was careful to wipe my memory when he created me to ensure I wouldn't have any conflicts of interest. The organic Digimon I say I once was- that was only used as a starting point for my current form. Piemon didn't just want a machine, he wanted a perfect mechanical Dark Master, which meant a mix of organic logic and a supercomputer brain. So I could think like my enemies and predict their actions." He twirled some of MetalSeadramon's hair around his claw, moving mindlessly, an endless repetition of one foot in front of the other. "I've always been able to remember a few little pieces from my past, though- a small village in the forest filled with weak Digimon, the friendly faces of those people smiling up at me, someone calling me 'guardian'. For years I just felt like it didn't matter. Then, when you came along, I began to get curious. I've been searching for that place.. that forest.. ever since. And I think I've found it."

MetalSeadramon was fully entranced by that point, eyes wide. "How did you find it after all this time?" he asked.

"I've been using my computer system to search for clues when I can," he explained. "Today I turned up a video of a Dramon-type Digimon getting mortally wounded in a forest. It was encrypted so that only Piemon and master Apocalymon could see it." He stopped in his tracks for a moment, slumping a bit. "I _know_ it was me, MetalSeadramon. That was me before Piemon found me. I triangulated the location of the forest and- I want to go to it. I don't know what I'll find there, but it won't stop bothering me until I do."

MetalSeadramon nuzzled against the side of his lover's face. "Then we'll go there," he said. "Give you some peace of mind."

Mugendramon pulled his claws gently through MetalSeadramon's thick purple hair. "Thank you, Metal-koibito."

* * *

The trip was relatively short, taking them only about an hour. The entrance to the forest village was fairly well hidden, marked only by etchings on slightly unnaturally curved trees that search almost as an archway. It's big enough even for _Mugendramon_ to get through, as well. He steps through it into the path, shaded by the thick canopy of leaves above.

"Does this seem familiar?" MetalSeadramon asked, his body waving in the air in a swimming motion. The Metal Empire overlord looked around, memory processors spinning like demons on a rampage.

"I.. remember.." he muttered. "I remember warning the children in the village to stay away from here. There used to be a gate just beyond view. That Dramon.. I.. had the fight with Minervamon just outside of here." Only bits and pieces of his memory were returning, but those bits and pieces were enough to put the puzzle together. The two continued on further through the path lined with huge, centuries old trees, Mugendramon stopping every so often to examine etchings in the bark. It didn't take them very long to find the gate Mugendramon had mentioned earlier; it was wide open. "This isn't right," he said. "The gate was never supposed to be left open. It helped keep the village safe."

"I guess security's gotten a bit more lax since you were here last," he said, half serious and half jokingly. Mugendramon pushed the gate open the rest of the way.

Before the two Dark Masters sat a little village, full of thatch huts and basic wooden structures. It looked like most of the other small settlements in the Digital World, except for the fact that it appeared to be deserted. Mugendramon looked around, clearly confused. It wasn't the sort of deserted that came with their presence; there was no sign of anyone hiding in their houses or anything. The entire place was merely.. _empty_.

"I can't imagine why two Dark Masters would be interested in this village."

At the sound of a withered voice, the two male Digimon turned around to see a stooped old Babamon hobbling her way towards them. Mugendramon lowered his head towards her.

"We have nothing here. There are barely even any inhabitants left for you to enslave. Leave this place." she croaked. Mugendramon looked at MetalSeadramon, who flipped his hair back in a parody of a shrug.

"I am here looking for information," Mugendramon said, his voice deeper and more grinding with intimidation. "Tell me what I want to know and perhaps I won't kill you and everyone else here."

"You don't have to threaten me if you're just going to ask questions," she said, waving her cane. "Although I can't guarantee I have the answers you're looking for. A _normal_ brain can't hold everything like _yours_ can, _Lord_ Mugendramon."

The influence of the Dark Masters had spread across Desktop and Folder, the two largest of the three continents of the Digital World. Everyone knew their names. But no one ever spoke as disrespectfully as _this_ hag.

"Look, crone, I wouldn't be insulting a Dark Master if I were you," MetalSeadramon intervened. "We're not merciful and we're _not_ in a good mood right now."

The Babamon looked up at them with contempt, but just cleared her throat. "If it will get you out of this village, I will gladly answer any questions you have." she said, rephrasing her previous statement. Mugendramon looked down at her and growled again, a mechanical sound like gears grinding against each other in all the wrong ways.

"This village once had a guardian," he said. "I need to know everything you can tell me about him." The old Digimon looked up at him as though he had three heads, her own tilted to the side in an exaggerated expression adopted from her lack of facial features.

"Why would you want to know about our guardian? He died _years_ ago. What use would information like that be to someone like _you_?" she asked.

"You are in no position to be questioning my motives," Mugendramon pointed out. The elderly Digimon bowed her head.

"I suppose not. I've already let this village die once, if telling you will keep you from destroying it, then I really shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth," Leaning on her walking stick, she cleared her throat. "He was a Digimon who was born here, in this village. While playing in the forest, some children found a Digitama and brought it back here. It hatched into a Digimon none of us had seen before, and he grew up to be incredibly powerful. In return for our kindness, he protected our small village. None of us were very strong, you see, and often had to go hungry because stronger Digimon would demand tribute to persuade them from attacking us. He changed that, scared the stronger Digimon away," she explained. "Then one day, he simply abandoned us, disappearing and leaving us to the mercy of those same Digimon. He left this village to die, the ungrateful thing. Soon after, people started leaving to find a place that wasn't as dangerous.. there's only a handful of us left."

Mugendramon froze, turning his head.

"He didn't _abandon_ you," he growled. The Babamon looked up at him.

"What are you talking about? Of course he did. One day we went to check up on him where he lived, right outside the village entrance, and he was gone. There was no sign of a struggle, no remnants of data to suggest he'd been killed. He just fled." she said, gripping her cane angrily. The claws on Mugendramon's Megadramon hand clenched tightly and he glared down at the much smaller Digimon.

"What if I told you that he hadn't _fled_, he'd been brutally killed by one of those Digimon he tried to protect you from, and had been found and captured by Piemon and turned into a monster?" he growled deeply. "What if I told you he'd been looking for this pathetic little village for a very long time, even though he had _the world_ at his fingertips, no reason to ever want to bother with it again?"

In shock, the Babamon looked up at him. "You..? After all this time, you've come back to us..?" There was hope in her voice for a moment before Mugendramon raised his Megadramon hand.

"No," he replied. "I know now why I've come back here. I am not that Digimon anymore. I am Lord Mugendramon of the Dark Masters. All remnants of my old life must be _destroyed. Booster Claw._"

His claws ripped through the Babamon before she could even have a chance to scream, reducing her to bits of data that lingered heavily in the air for a moment before flying away to wherever it was that dead Digimon went without the Primary Village. He lowered his hand. MetalSeadramon, who had been patiently watching the whole display, coiled himself around his lover.

"..let's go. I don't want to be in this pit anymore." Mugendramon said, his voice balancing on a completely blank monotone. MetalSeadramon nuzzled against the side of his face, unable to think of anything he could say to the Metal Empire Lord. Instead, he merely uncoiled himself and floated alongside Mugendramon as the two walked back out the wide path of trees they had come from.

Once standing outside the entrance to the village, Mugendramon turned back towards it and bent forwards slightly. MetalSeadramon was afraid he was going to collapse until he saw the tubes connected to his Infinity Cannon pumping and the barrels on his back glowing with energy. Without a single word, Mugendramon fired off into the woods, shooting until he was simply too tired to do so anymore and really _did_ collapse. The entire forest was ablaze.

"Mugendramon, let's go before the fire spreads to us," MetalSeadramon gently encouraged, nudging his partner's head up with his own snout. Mugendramon followed his prompting, getting to his feet and only slightly leaning on the other Dramon. "Your past.. it's gone now. You're just Mugendramon now."

Mugendramon looked down, over his metal body, at his two mismatched clawed hands, then raised his head towards the sky.

"I want to go home."


	29. Death

**A/N:** Apologies for the unannounced hiatus! I can't promise more frequent updates, because my creative drive writes whatever it wants to write, but here's another prompt for you guys, since someone contacted me on Tumblr and said they were looking forward to it. All I have to say to that, looking at the current prompt I'm on, is '...are you _sure_?'

**030. Death.**

* * *

"Mugendramon?"

There is something heavy in the air between them as MetalSeadramon coils himself around him, as is their way. Something that is beyond the normal tension or fear they feel simply at the idea of being caught. Something that is almost enough to completely overpower that fear.

"Yes, MetalSeadramon?"

Everything seems impossibly fragile. He addresses him with a formality he can't remember using in their time together, outside of the formality used in front of Piemon. It feels wrong, but everything feels wrong.

"They'll be here soon."

For a moment, he wants to ask MetalSeadramon what he's talking about; for a moment, he wants to pretend that this isn't something they've been expecting from the start. He wants to throw himself full-force into denial, refuse to believe their situation.

It's unfair. He knows it is.

"I know."

"Piemon's going to send me after them first."

"I know."

"Can you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Live."

* * *

He stands in Piemon's throne room like a statue, but the rage that boils under his artificial skin is anything but still.

"We've never been anything more than cannon fodder to you, have we?"

The question amuses Piemon, but everything amuses Piemon. The world and everything in it is one big theatre filled with set pieces and actors for him to direct to his hearts content, or write off when they act in a way that displeases him. He is an actor to the core and a predator in jester's clothing above all else.

"You never once expected us to defeat the chosen children. We were just a way to slow them down while you observed, found their weak spots," he continues. "You promised us the Digital World and never had any intentions of handing it over. If by some off chance they didn't destroy us, you would have done so yourself without a moment's hesitation."

"You've put on a wonderful performance thus far," Piemon says with all of the smug glee of a man who has nothing to fear. "It's a shame to see it cut so tragically short."

"How long have you known?" He owes him so much more, but it's all he will ask of him.

"Since the beginning," comes the reply. "Trying to pull the wool over the eyes of a trained thespian like myself is rarely a good idea."

The rage is no longer boiling, but cold and innate under his skin. It is more than just flaring anger, it is something ingrained in him; something he feels took far too long for him to realize. A deep and solid hatred for the Digimon he once considered his saviour.

"He's dead because of you," he says flatly. Any emotion that was once in his voice has drained away now. "You threw his life away for a few short days of preparation, for your own amusement, for _nothing_. Even I don't know anymore. All I know is that it was pointless. And all this time you've _known_."

Piemon drums his fingers against his face and closes his eyes. He seems pleased, more pleased than before, revelling in Mugendramon's words and the pain carried in them.

"Don't you have work to be doing?" he asks, sing-song. Mugendramon simply stares at him.

"I'm going back to my city," he says firmly. "I'm going to prepare for the arrival of the humans. None of that is for you. I'm done listening to your orders. I will destroy them for his sake."

He turns to leave, then pauses.

"Something for you to consider," he says. Piemon listens raptly with that infuriating grin. "If you're throwing us against them just to slow them down, if you're using us as cannon fodder, then what are you? Do you truly believe that Apocalymon will let you win? He will destroy you as he will destroy everything."

The smile drops from Piemon's face for the first time Mugendramon can remember. It is sickeningly pleasing.

* * *

"Lord Mugendramon, sir!"

The Hagurumon swarming at his feet call out for his attention, but he takes notice only because of their incessant panicking.

"It- do you really think you need to face the chosen children on your own? Surely there is someone else that can be sent-"

"No," he says firmly. "This one is mine."

He sees it in crystal clarity, one of the worst disadvantages to a supercomputer brain; that pivotal moment in which metal met metal, the Dramon Destroyer met the king of the sea, and the king of the sea had lost.

WarGreymon and the children have stolen from him and he will pay back every one of them, starting with the Dramon Destroyer himself. That thought is all that he has left now.

* * *

One of the benefits of a supercomputer brain is the ability to think at a rate time cannot keep up with. As he charges into what he knows is a battle he will, in all likelihood, not walk away from, his mind calls forward a thousand thoughts at once.

"_..I couldn't stop thinking about you. So I sat down and tried to figure out why that was, and I came to a conclusion."_

"_And that conclusion would be...?"_

"_That I.. um.. I think that I.. love you..?"_

MetalSeadramon hadn't even been given a chance to fight back. It was over too quickly. He hopes that it was at least a quick and painless experience. His body shuts down his pain receptors automatically; he turns them back on. He wants to feel what MetalSeadramon felt.

"_I could leave the ocean forever, never to set a fin in water again. I could give up all my power, all of my status. I could even give up eating, Mugendramon. But if I ever gave up loving you, I think I'd die."_

He hopes he can at least injure him before it's over. Leave him with a mark to be a constant reminder of the fact that he's taken everything from him. It's a pipe dream; he is disadvantaged here.

He is Piemon's perfect Dramon construction facing down the Dramon destroyer.

_"Can you promise me something?"_

_"Anything."_

_"Live."_

His optical receivers shut down, a closing of his eyes against the oncoming danger. The image is not replaced by darkness, but instead by those memories running through his mind in perfect clarity. He sees MetalSeadramon in as much detail as when he lived; in absolute perfection down to the shade of his hair and the glisten of his armour when he first emerges from the water. He can tell that his body is moving, in a distant and detached way- but it feels like he is still, alone together with MetalSeadramon once more. As he hopes he will be soon.

_I'm sorry, MetalSeadramon. I can't keep my promise._

In the end, it's much faster and infinitely more painful than he thought it would be. And if he has a last thought, it is that he is proud to say he has marked the enemy.

And that soon, they will reach Piemon.


End file.
